New court rules went into effect in Massachusetts last month that authorize remote depositions whenever the party noticing the deposition elects that format. A prior proposal to make in-person depositions the default option...more
In today’s digital age, entrepreneurs are often tempted to use online legal services such as LegalZoom, Nolo, or similar platforms to form their businesses, or in some instances, even artificial intelligence. ...more
Forget size, age, awards, geography, even subject matter. Professors at Harvard Business School have deduced that there are really only four specific types of professional services practices … and that practitioners who...more
A couple of months ago, I helped to run the Online Courtroom Project’s demonstration jury trial using Zoom. Like a number of other experiments and actual trials going forward across the country, jurors showed up via laptop...more
Here is a scenario that might be playing out in various forms around the country: A judge looks at her increasingly crowded docket during the coronavirus pandemic and thinks, “Well, I’m doing professional meetings on Zoom...more
Across the country, restaurants are changing what it means to be a restaurant, movie theaters are changing what it means to be a movie theater, and conferences are changing what it means to be a conference. So maybe it’s...more
As our court system looks at the possibilities for trials under the current pandemic conditions, it seems like we face a choice: Restart trials in person, with distance, disinfectants, masks, and barriers; or move the process...more
It’s true – running an organization that is built on in-person personal relationships has it’s challenges. But what doesn’t have its challenges in 2020, right?...more
This eighth edition of Unprecedented, our weekly update on COVID-19-related litigation, follows what we hope was a restful and meaningful Memorial Day weekend. For the third week in a row, shutdown challenges, workers'...more
On April 19, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit rejected a trade association’s constitutional challenge to the North Carolina rules that prevent corporations from providing legal advice. North Carolina’s...more
According to a complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California by California law firm LegalForce RAPC Worldwide, LegalZoom engages in the unauthorized practice of law when its...more
On June 10, 2016, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) jointly submitted a letter recommending that the North Carolina General Assembly limit the definition of the “practice of law” only...more
With negotiations on the budget bill (HB 1030) still continuing outside the public view, this week the General Assembly focused on other issues. Tax Proposals; Services Tax Clarifications and New Market Jobs Act - ...more
In the latest development from a number of antitrust lawsuits filed against state regulatory boards, LegalZoom.com Inc. signed a consent agreement with the North Carolina State Bar (State Bar) to settle a $10.5 million...more
Supreme Court Decision in North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners v. Federal Trade Commission Prompts Legal Challenges to State Professional Boards - Earlier this month a Texas federal district court judge granted a...more
On February 25, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed the scope of antitrust immunity for state regulatory boards whose members are active market participants in the occupation regulated by the boards. In North Carolina State...more
There are probably some of you who lie awake at night wondering whether Leagalzoom's offering of do it yourself lawyering products will be found to be the unauthorized practice of law (UPL) in North Carolina....more
Legislators are back in Raleigh after a week off and it doesn’t look like anything has changed after the extra time they were given to reflect on the session. Just as we’ve seen before: - There’s a new bill that would...more
LegalZoom, the online legal documents preparation service, is seeking a toehold in North Carolina by amending the statutory definition of the practice of law in G.S. 84-2.1 over the objections of the North Carolina Bar. The...more
Legalzoom may be a step closer to overcoming the NC State Bar's assertion that its online legal document service constitutes the unauthorized practice of law (UPL), following yesterday's ruling in LegalZoom, Inc. v. North...more